‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the Pandemic
The closure of Sunday services during the national lockdown created an uproar among the Christian faithful in South Africa. For many, it was an infringement of their right to public worship and a direct attack on their Christian faith. This article argues that the uproar could have been caused by t...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Africajournals
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Pharos Journal of Theology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_36_vol_101__2020__ufs.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811266999071801344 |
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| author | Dr Thembelani Jentile |
| author_facet | Dr Thembelani Jentile |
| author_sort | Dr Thembelani Jentile |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The closure of Sunday services during the national lockdown created an uproar among the Christian faithful in South Africa. For many, it was an infringement of their right to public worship and a direct attack on their Christian faith. This article argues that the uproar could
have been caused by the underlying Christendom theology, which has led many African Christians to focus on Sunday as the ‘great day’, rendering Christianity a ‘Sunday cult’. This is because between the second and the seventh centuries, the church became more dualistic,
attractional, and hierarchical. Alas, Christendom, as a paradigm of comprehension, still exercises an overweening influence on our prevailing theological, missiological, and ecclesiological understanding in church circles. It is suggested that for the church to be
relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, it must ‘adopt the African worldview’, ‘redefine itself as a “who” rather than a “what”’, and ‘reconsider the incarnation principle’. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:53:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45c989e9db48402aa5d08edc783f6be4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2414-3324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:53:26Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Africajournals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharos Journal of Theology |
| spelling | doaj.art-45c989e9db48402aa5d08edc783f6be42022-12-22T03:17:03ZengAfricajournalsPharos Journal of Theology2414-33242020-09-01101‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the PandemicDr Thembelani Jentile0University of the Free StateThe closure of Sunday services during the national lockdown created an uproar among the Christian faithful in South Africa. For many, it was an infringement of their right to public worship and a direct attack on their Christian faith. This article argues that the uproar could have been caused by the underlying Christendom theology, which has led many African Christians to focus on Sunday as the ‘great day’, rendering Christianity a ‘Sunday cult’. This is because between the second and the seventh centuries, the church became more dualistic, attractional, and hierarchical. Alas, Christendom, as a paradigm of comprehension, still exercises an overweening influence on our prevailing theological, missiological, and ecclesiological understanding in church circles. It is suggested that for the church to be relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, it must ‘adopt the African worldview’, ‘redefine itself as a “who” rather than a “what”’, and ‘reconsider the incarnation principle’.https://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_36_vol_101__2020__ufs.pdfcoronaviruscovid-19 pandemicsundaydualismspiritualityincarnation |
| spellingShingle | Dr Thembelani Jentile ‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the Pandemic Pharos Journal of Theology coronavirus covid-19 pandemic sunday dualism spirituality incarnation |
| title | ‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the Pandemic |
| title_full | ‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | ‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the Pandemic |
| title_short | ‘ICawa ivaliwe’: The Church During the Pandemic |
| title_sort | icawa ivaliwe the church during the pandemic |
| topic | coronavirus covid-19 pandemic sunday dualism spirituality incarnation |
| url | https://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_36_vol_101__2020__ufs.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT drthembelanijentile icawaivaliwethechurchduringthepandemic |